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Space 1: The Name is Ark

SPACE 1. The Name is Ark

‘I was also like that…..’

Hyun-woo recalled the old days. It had already been 4 years since Hyun-woo set foot in Global Exos wearing borrowed clothes like that young man. But now he became the advisor director and could get on the exclusive elevator to go straight to the vice president’s office. The difference after 4 years was huge! This meteoric rise was because he was the representative of Global Exos in New World. No, to be precise it was because he obtained the master code after defeating the Dark Lord Lucifer. The master code was what Park Woo-seong and Yuna used to create New World so he literally gained the power of the Creator. The master code ended up being absorbed by Hyun-woo and stuck to Ark’s character.
How could a mere user like Hyun-woo receive such a thing? It would take 10 days just to explain the eventful 3 months it took. This was the result so he had to accept it. In the autobiography ‘Ark,’ it stated that he survived on seaweed rolls as his meal three times a day while playing the game and had become the best user in New World.

‘Anyway…..’

Since then, Hyun-woo’s life had changed by 180 degrees. The reason why Hyun-woo first started New World was different from other users. He wanted to achieve two things through New World. The first was to get a job at Global Exos and the second was to gain enough money for his mother’s medical bills and their living expenses. He accomplished both things with the master code. In the view of the game company, it was impossible to leave Hyun-woo who had the power of the master code alone. They decided it was necessary to manage Hyun-woo and gave him the title of Advisory Director.
Even if he graduated from the large S or K universities, it would be difficult to cross the threshold to reach the title of Advisory Director. His life had reversed by playing the game!

‘When comparing to 4 years ago when I had to worry about the meals every day, there is nothing more I can wish for but…..’

It was the law of the world that he would lose something when gaining too much. Hyun-woo lost ‘Ark’ after he became the Advisory Director of Global Exos. He didn’t mean that the character Ark had died. Ark swallowed the master code and had gained the unique position of God in New World.

God!

Yes, Ark wasn’t a simple character in New World anymore. With the power of God, he could handle anything in the game world! It was a power that every gamer wanted. However, actually gaining the power was different. Think about it. If he had the power of God then he could delete a terrible moment or he could easily find legendary armour. No, level and equipment had no meaning.

“Huck! The trap worked!”

“There is a mob of monsters! The numbers are terrible!”

“Ugh, I can’t give up now!”

It was a desperate moment in the game!

“……Del.”

-Good job! You have wiped out thousands of monsters in one blow!

This happened with just one word from Hyun-woo. The Del key could destroy thousands of monsters in one blow. That was the power of the master code. Why would level of equipment matter? If was the same even if Lucifer was revived again. If he said ‘Kill’ then Lucifer would be smashed to death! Hyun-woo could no longer called New World a game. That didn’t mean Hyun-woo had nothing to do in New World. New World was a game so it was continuously developing new contents. Park Woo-seong was the creator and main person behind the ‘Lucifer incident’ (see autobiography of Ark) had been arrested. Therefore Global Exos had a new task team to develop new content but they failed to reach the level of the genius Park Woo-seong. Every time they updated with a new expansion pack, a serious bug would occur. For example, a devil would suddenly appear to wipe out a novice village. Hyun-woo’s main task as the director was to correct these bugs. Hyun-woo could easily use the master code to move the devil to the middle of nowhere.

‘It is a form of work but……’

He no longer felt exhilaration when exploring a new dungeon or tension when meeting a powerful enemy. It was good becoming a God at first but after being invincible for the last year, his passion for New World gradually faded away.
Ark was a God, not a game character anymore. The time where Ark cried over 1 copper wouldn’t return. He sometimes felt despondent when thinking about it but Hyun-woo shook his head.

‘It sounds like I’m complaining after having a full stomach.’

He got everything that he dreamt about 4 years ago. He shouldn’t be excessively greedy. At this time, Hyun-woo never imagined what would happen. Hyun-woo didn’t know what was waiting for him in the Vice President’s room…..

Hyun-woo looked surprised. When he entered the Vice President’s office, four people were sitting down. He knew the faces of three of them. The one with a bald head was the Vice President who called him and the man in his thirties next to him was Ha Myung-woo from the Planning Department. The problem was the other person.

‘If I remember correctly, he is Park Woo-seong!’

The real creator of New World! Park Woo-seong had been charged after the Lucifer event. Hyun-woo heard the consequences weren’t small because it was quite a large event. So why was he sitting in the Vice President’s office of Global Exos? Hyun-woo hesitated and the Vice President stood up.

“Ah, Director Kim, come on in.”

The Vice President introduced him to the other middle aged man in the room.

“This is Kim Hyun-woo who is known as Ark in New World.”

“Nice to meet you. I am Moon Ji-hun.”

“Yes, I am Kim Hyun-woo.”

Hyun-woo greeted and looked at the Vice President. The Vice President sighed heavily and said.

“He is someone from the government.”

“The government? Why is someone from the government…..?”

“Please sit down. Chief Moon will tell you the details.”

Hyun-woo sat down across from Moon Ji-hun and stared at him. It was an attitude commonly seen in people wary of the government. But he didn’t say anything since Moon Ji-hun seemed serious. Hyun-woo was 100% sensible. He noticed the atmosphere and intuitively sensed that what he had to hear was important. Not surprisingly, Moon Ji-hun’s starting words were extremely stressful.

“I wanted to point out one thing before telling you the details. I am the current chief of the department of the Emergency Planning services. And that is the reason why I’m here today. From now on, everything I have to say is confidential. You cannot say anything about it outside this room, no matter the reason. This is a matter of national security so you will be severely punished if you break this.”

‘Emergency Planning? National security?’

He had only heard those words in the news. Hyun-woo was stunned by the unexpected words but that was just the beginning. The following words that emerged from Moon Ji-hun’s mouth was something that he hadn’t even heard in the news.

“Around 4 p.m. yesterday, all the nuclear power plants in this country have been occupied by a terrorist.”

“Eh? Eh eh? The nuclear power plants have been occupied by a terrorist?”

“That’s right.”

“B-but I didn’t hear about it on the news……”

Hyun-woo stuttered with a disbelieving expression.

“If it was discovered that the nuclear power plants were shut down……”

“You’re very perceptive.”

Moon Ji-hun nodded.

“You’ll probably understand even if I don’t tell you. Currently the only people who know the details are the task force from the Emergency Planning department and the managers of the power plants. Together there are approximately 100 people who know.”

Hyun-woo was stunned. What type of place was the nuclear power plant? It contained nuclear power. If a problem occurred at a nuclear power plant then it was the same as receiving damage from a nuclear bomb. Yet Moon Ji-hun said that such as dangerous place was occupied by terrorists. That in itself wasn’t the only thing that made Hyun-woo puzzled.
He couldn’t understand why they would talk about it with him.

“W-why are you telling me this?”

“We need Hyun woo ssi’s help.”

The answer was even more incomprehensible. Hyun-woo was certainly different from the general public. But that power was only limited to the virtual reality game called New World. In reality Hyun-woo was just an ordinary man.

“My help? Are you mistaking me with somebody else? I’m not a person who would be involved in such things. I’m just a gamer. I’m a person who shuts myself in my house and plays a game.”

“I know.”

“If you know then why…..?”

“You must be very puzzled. It is understandable. I would also be puzzled if I was in your situation. However, we desperately need Hyun-woo ssi’s help.”

“No, I mean I’m just…..”

“A gamer.”

Moon Ji-hun continued talking.

“But you’re not a mediocre gamer. You defeated numerous competitors in the game New World and gained the abilities like a god. It is the reason why I visited Hyun-woo ssi.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Moon Ji-hun paused after hearing Hyun-woo’s question and took out a cigarette. The Vice President was a non-smoker so he looked uncomfortably at the smoke.

“Have you heard of the game Galaxian?”

……He had heard of it. Before the advent of virtual reality games, the company ‘Successful Future’ had occupied 50% of the game market. And this was a virtual reality game that they invested 10 years into making. It was the reason why Global Exos continued with the updates despite the bugs. It was to prepare for the fluctuations in the virtual reality game market when Galaxian was released.

“The requirements from the terrorist involves Galaxian.”

“Huh? The terrorists want a share in a virtual reality game that is going to be released soon?”

“It would be better if that was the case.

Moon Ji-hun sighed.

“The terrorist wants to become the number 1 user in the game Galaxian that is soon to be released. His goal is to become the best user in Galaxian, just like Hyun-woo is in New World. If another user takes the position of first place then he would stop all attacks against government facilities.”

“What if the terrorist achieves his aim of coming first?”

“……In the worst case scenario, the nuclear power plants will be blown up.”

“Eh? Eh eh?”

Hyun-woo’s mouth dropped open. The nuclear power plants would be blown up. Hyun-woo knew the horrible results that would occur. The nuclear accident involving the Fukushima area in Japan had caused serious damage to Japan and the world. Yet the Japanese politicians still hadn’t apologized for it…..
Anyway, decades had passed since there was a nuclear reactor accident so it would cause huge damage domestically and abroad. If someone blew up the nuclear power plants then the damage would be incomparable to the Fukushima accident.
It would be astronomical damage several times that accident! Korea would also suffer from an economic downturn. But the terrorist’s demand was the most outrageous part.

‘If other users can’t stop him then the nuclear power plants will explode?’

This was the first time he heard of a terrorist like this. He couldn’t take it seriously. But this person came from the Emergency Planning department so it couldn’t be a joke. It was difficult to believe but it was true. Then the reason Moon Ji-hun visited Hyun-woo…..

“Now you can understand the seriousness of the situation. The Emergency Planning Department was summoned yesterday and after a long meeting, we decided to entrust it to experts.”

“Experts?”

“Gamers.”

Moon Ji-hun said to Hyun-woo.

“The Emergency Planning Department isn’t only meeting with Hyun-woo. New World, Royal Road, Mecca, etc. From all the virtual reality games, we asked for help from 50 gamers who stood out in the game. There is a higher possibility of a user who is already the best in their game reaching the number 1 position in Galaxian before the terrorist.”

That was the reason why Moon Ji-hun visited Hyun-woo this morning. Hyun-woo was the strongest user in the virtual reality game New World. He understood up to here. He understood but…..

“I still don’t understand. Why on earth is the terrorist doing such a thing? If he wanted to compete with other users they couldn’t he just play the game? Why would he need to bother with the nuclear power plants? Furthermore, to become the strongest user in a new virtual reality game? How long would that take? I don’t understand why the country would enlist help from gamers because of one terrorist.”

“Yes, it doesn’t make sense.”

He received a disappointing answer.

“We still don’t understand everything yet. But it is clear that the terrorist possesses the power to threaten the government. And….the terrorist’s ultimate goal is to reach the top position in Galaxian and time has no meaning to him. That….is because he isn’t a person.”

“H-he isn’t a person?”

“…….Do you remember the Lucifer project?”

Hyun-woo looked towards Park Woo-seong sitting near him. Project Lucifer was the name of the artificial intelligence that Park Woo-seong created in order to destroy New World. Hyun-woo (Ark) had defeated him. Moon Ji-hun continued talking while Hyun-woo looked at Park Woo-seong.

“The terrorist that took over the nuclear power plant if Lucifer.”

Hyun-woo naturally couldn’t understand what they meant for a while.

“Lucifer? After that incident…..”

“Officially, he has been disposed of.”

“Officially?”

“The government interfered.”

Ha Myung-woo who had been sitting quietly suddenly cut in. Moon Ji-hun sent him an uncomfortable look but Ha Myung-woo ignored him and continued.

“It’s natural for you not to know since it was even hidden from Global Exos. When Lucifer was sealed up and Park Woo-seong charged, Lucifer’s data was submitted to the government as evidence. But Lucifer wasn’t returned. He also wasn’t disposed of.”

“……Why?”

“Lucifer is currently the best performing artificial intelligence. The government desired it so they took him. They thought they could handle the enormous data of the most powerful artificial intelligence. By using it……”

“Ha Myung-woo ssi!”

Moon Ji-Hoon shouted. The Vice President who was opening the window for ventilation jumped with surprise. But Ha Myung-woo didn’t even lift an eyebrow.
“You became an advisor of Global Exos because you sealed up Lucifer. You have to right to know all the information related to Lucifer. It will also help with your future work. Isn’t that right?”

“Uh……”

Moon Ji-hun just kept on sucking his cigarette. Ha Myung-woo accepted that as unspoken permission.

“The government probably intended to develop artificial intelligence using Lucifer. They thought it wouldn’t be difficult if they had Park Woo-seong who created Lucifer. However, Park Woo-seong didn’t cooperate with them. But the government didn’t give up and ended up retrofitting Lucifer and made a mistake.”

“A mistake?”

“The government unleashed Lucifer on a controlled internet network as a test measure.”

It was a closed circuit where they were able to 100% control Lucifer. The government thought he was a child that listened to them. However, the government had forgotten an important fact. Lucifer was an artificial intelligence with the ability to think for himself and he is cunning. Lucifer followed the control of the government until he was shut in the closed circuit. Everything changed the moment he connected to the internet network. Lucifer who had been upgraded quickly got past the government’s security and hijacked the nuclear power plant. This is the reason why the government can’t come up with any countermeasures and are afraid. The computer program occupied the nuclear power plant system so there is nothing for the anti-terrorism special forces to do.

‘That is the reason why the government didn’t decline Lucifer’s request.’

The control systems of the nuclear power plants had the best security. These days the modern smartphones could be more powerful than a nuclear bomb. Lucifer was a smart guy and obeyed the government at first. And the government was hit on the back of the head. Thanks to that, the government was really scrambling!

This was the result of their greed. Hyun-woo might have many complaints about the current government but this was still a national crisis. He couldn’t be glad after thinking about the potential colossal damage. And there was still an unsolved mystery remaining.

“Then what is Lucifer’s purpose? Why is he doing such a thing?”

“Lucifer only had one purpose from the beginning.”

Park Woo-seong started talking for the first time.

“Lucifer is an artificial intelligence. He might think and act like a human but he has no interest in the things humans enjoy. Lucifer doesn’t care about money, power and honour. His purpose if the one I created him for.”

“The purpose you created Lucifer for?”

“Revenge on the users.”
Park Woo-seong laughed and replied.

“However, Lucifer couldn’t accomplish his purpose and was sealed up. So he is going to start again to get revenge on the users. That is the only way he can be himself.”

“Then why is he trying to blow up the nuclear power plants?”

“Lucifer’s revenge target are the users not humans. Taking human life has no meaning to Lucifer. The nuclear power plant was just a method to escape from the government and to make them leave him alone while he connects to Galaxian. Lucifer can only prove himself if a world where he can compete equally with the users. He wants to prove that he is superior to the users.”

“Then what is he going to do if he proves himself?”

“I don’t know. I only made Lucifer for that purpose. I have nothing to do with anything else. No, his goal might’ve increased by one more thing.”

Park Woo-seong turned his gaze towards Hyun-woo.

“To beat the user who defeated him. That is you, Ark.”

“It is also why I visited Hyun-woo ssi.”

Moon Ji-hun sighed and handed him a note after hearing Park Woo-seong’s words.

Ark definitely has to participate in Galaxian. If Ark participates then I hand over the controls for the nuclear power plant.

Hyun-woo stared at the memo with dumb surprise. The NPC had been defeated 1 year ago and he took South Korea hostage to apply for another challenge. He couldn’t get a grasp of it in order to accept. But it was already meaningless whether Hyun-woo accepted the challenge. He had no choice. It was because of one part of Lucifer’s message.

“He won’t blow up the nuclear power plant if I participate…..does that mean I can prevent a nuclear explosion just by playing Galaxian?”

“It is just a temporary measure.”

“Temporary measure?”

“The current government can’t stop Lucifer because he is the most powerful artificial intelligence. Lucifer said that he wouldn’t commit terrorism if another user becomes the strongest in Galaxian. In other words, Lucifer will just commit another act of terrorism if he wins.”

That’s the reason why Park Woo-seong was here. Park Woo-seong was going to cooperate with the government to prepare a plan to stop Lucifer’s terrorism. The problem was they didn’t know how long it would take. So they needed to request the help of influential gamers like Hyun-woo to catch Lucifer in Galaxian. They had to find ways to neutralize or eliminate Lucifer.

‘……I have no choice.’

If Hyun-woo refused then the nuclear power plants would explode. But if Hyun-woo connected to Galaxian then he could stop the explosion at least. It all depended on who became the stronger player in Galaxian first. The burden on his shoulder was heavy because it was a national emergency. But reaching the top spot in Galaxian didn’t matter to Hyun-woo. The government had also contacted the strongest users of other games. They also wouldn’t be able to decline.
Because a mere gamer couldn’t antagonize the government. In addition, there were a large number of other users.
If one of them became the strongest person in Galaxian first than Lucifer’s terrorism wouldn’t occur. Even if Lucifer became the strongest, Park Woo-seong would’ve prepared a plan to stop him. There was no need for Hyun-woo to carry the heavy load alone.

‘But even so……’

This was happening in the first place because of the government’s greed. They were just dumping the messy situation on Hyun-woo and the other gamers. But Hyun-woo was still a citizen of Korea. There was no way he could ignore it if there was a chance that the nuclear power plants would explode. But……

“I understand. I don’t know if I can stop Lucifer but I will participate.”

“Thank you.”

Moon Ji-hun nodded and bowed. Hyun-woo laughed as he looked at the crown of Moon Ji-hun’s head.

“Then let’s start the negotiations.”

……Hyun-woo was Ark. Free labour wasn’t a concept that existed for Ark.

“This will be a difficult situation for me.”

Hyun-woo smiled and muttered. The explosive crisis of the nuclear power plant! A national crisis! An emergency! Moon Ji-hun thought Hyun-woo would be burning with patriotism and would plunge straight into Galaxian…..he was mistaken.
Of course Hyun-woo didn’t want the nuclear power plants to explode. Patriotism also burned inside him. He was willing to do his best to stop Lucifer for the country. Even so, it was impossible for Hyun-woo to work for free. The politicians were the ones who caused this situation so they should pay for it. Why should Hyun-woo have to pay taxes to them and helping clean up their mess for nothing?

‘Anyway, I’ve grasped the sword hilt!’

Moon Ji-hun had already met with other users of virtual reality games and secured their cooperation. Of course, Hyun-woo also had to cooperate. However, Hyun-woo was in a different position from them. Lucifer threatened to blow up the power plants if Hyun-woo didn’t enter the game. In other words, if Hyun-woo didn’t play then they would have no chance to compete with Lucifer. And the nuclear power plants would explode! Not one single mark would be left. If Hyun-woo had some requests then the government would have no choice but to accept. The range of the nuclear blast would be absurd! The government wouldn’t dare risk it! He hadn’t earned the title of strongest user in New World by doing nothing.

“I have three requirements.”

Hyun-woo began to talk with a relaxed expression. Moon Ji-hun couldn’t hide his confusion at the unexpected deployment. He looked at Ha Myung-woo and the Vice President for help but they just looked into the distance. Ha Myung-woo was originally a cynical person regarding the government and the Vice President was fed up with Moon Ji-hun smoking. They also couldn’t afford to offend Hyun-woo who held the master code to New World. Ha Myung-woo and the Vice President were completely behind Hyun-woo! Moo Ji-hun eventually had to lift the white flag.

“P-please continue.”

“First I have a question. Did you say that Lucifer showed you the requirements a short time ago? So it is possible to communicate with Lucifer?”

“That’s correct. It is possible to communicate through the nuclear power plant control system.”

“Then there will be no problems. My first request is to deliver a message to Lucifer.”

“Lucifer? What do you want to say?”

Hyun-woo emphasized every word in his speech.

“I won’t be threatened by your threat. The dog who was stepped on during the war is trying to bark again. So I’m going to diligently step on you as time passes…..tell him that.”

Hyun-woo agreed but he didn’t like the situation right now. He didn’t mind playing Galaxian. Hyun-woo hadn’t been able to enjoy New World since he obtained the master code. He was the best player in the game but he couldn’t enjoy it. So this was like an opportunity for Hyun-woo. He didn’t have to worry about Global Exos and could concentrate on a game. But he was forced to do it. Hyun-woo was offended that he was threatened to play Galaxian by an artificial intelligence. Ark’s pride didn’t allow him to be dragged into a game by an artificial intelligence. If he had to do it then it was through his own will!
Hyun-woo’s, no Ark’s beliefs didn’t change.

Park Woo-seong laughed and jumped in. And he reassured the worried Moon Ji-hun.

“Don’t worry. I assure you. It is better that Lucifer hears these words. Lucifer wishes for proof of his existence but getting revenge against the users. Ark is a goal that he has to exceed. It is better that he thinks of revenge against Hyun-woo than against humans. But Lucifer thinks of Ark as the enemy, not Hyun-woo. He is the rival that Lucifer desires most.”

Park Woo-seong knew Lucifer better than anyone. Moon Ji-hun nodded with an assured look after hearing Park Woo-seong’s words. He was also relieved that Hyun-woo’s requirements weren’t that great. However, Hyun-woo’s main conditions were from now on.

“The second condition is exemption from taxes.”

“Huh? T-tax exemption?”

“Isn’t it natural? I’m not playing the game for fun. The nation needs me to play the game so I’m putting off my personal matters. Of course, I am a citizen of Korea so I’m not going to ask for money. But shouldn’t this be sufficient as thanks?”

Hyun-woo had been forced to play the game against his will. However, he needed to get some benefits for any lack of sleep he would get. In fact, the worst part about being an advisor in Global Exos was the taxes. He used to be a gamer so he never had to worry about taxes. He was just charged a commission when trading items in the auction room. But now he could feel the taxes. Most of the public works over the last few years had a deficit so the taxes had doubled. It was also common to see on TV news about public officials embezzling money. He was working yet it felt sour seeing his money going into their pockets. Now he was a high profit person so he had a lot of taxes.

“I should be exempt from taxes while playing the game and if I receive the final goal and defeat Lucifer then I’ll be exempt for life. I think I should be able to request that. Wouldn’t I be more motivated with a reward?”

“Oh, I’ll take a look.”

“Let me tell you the last requirement first.”

“T-the last one? Ah that’s right. You said there were three requirements. Yes. That is…..”

“Don’t worry so much. The last condition is the success fee I’d like to receive if I stop Lucifer. I’ll think it is fair to pay a price for defeating Lucifer.”

“I-I will have to meet with the government…..”

“It isn’t an unreasonable demand.”

“W-What is it?”

The eyes of the four men in the office focused on Hyun-woo. Moon Ji-hun was looking very anxious about what Hyun-woo would request. Hyun-woo looked around at them and laughed.

“I won’t say it now. You also won’t be able to agree immediately so I’ll send a note with the last condition along with the contract.”

“C-contract?”

“Shouldn’t my conditions be clearly written on a contract?”

Moon Ji-hun frowned at Hyun-woo’s words but he couldn’t say anything. The situation were clearly on Hyun-woo’s side. There was no need to worry about holding his tongue when the government was his opponent.

……Thus the negotiations finished. Hyun-woo then went on to ask something else.

“Lucifer is an artificial intelligence but he vowed to become the best user in Galaxian. But Lucifer won’t hack the game in order to give him an advantage. If he wanted to do that then he wouldn’t have used this method in the first place. He won’t break Galaxian’s rules even if his defeat was assured. You can 100% trust that.”

That was Park Woo-seong’s words. In fact, that was the part Hyun-woo was most worried about. Lucifer was an artificial intelligence that was able to seize the government’s internet network in a few hours. Galaxian’s firewalls wouldn’t pose an obstacle to him. But if Park Woo-seong said Lucifer wouldn’t use this power then Hyun-woo didn’t need to worry. Because he could easily get his revenge by exploding the nuclear power plant. Even so, Lucifer wanted to compete equally with the users. Pride was an essential part of the artificial intelligence.

‘It is annoying that he is a computer program. But my position is fortunate.’

“It is a fact that Lucifer has the ability to hack Galaxian’s system. That means we also have to obey Galaxian’s rules while competing with Lucifer. Lucifer wouldn’t use this power for himself but if he sees us break the rules then he might. Lucifer will press the switch without hesitation if he sees even the slightest suspicious movement. Yes, Lucifer won’t blow up the nuclear power plants if I participate but he can still commit the act of terrorism if the government does something.”

That’s why the government had to rely on gamers. Of course, the government wouldn’t just release their hold over the gamers. Then intended to make contact with the publishers of Galaxian to get a hint for the final goal. However, the publisher of Galaxian was a foreign company. Numerous problems could occur in other countries so they couldn’t just pay attention to one. And the problem was the final goal was connected to the life force of the game. They invested billions of money into the game so they wouldn’t give out that information so easily. Perhaps that was the reason why Lucifer chose Galaxian.

‘If the government hadn’t upgraded him……’

Lucifer who was already cunning became even smarter.

“Will Lucifer really play fairly?”

“I guarantee it.”

“Then I’ll do it.”

Hyun-woo answered with a confident expression. Moon Ji-hun offered to make offer Ark government support but Hyun-woo declined. If he received help from the beginning then it would obviously be useful. But receiving their support was no different to be surveillance by the government. He had no intention of letting the government intervene with the way he played the game. He would settle it through the game system. Hyun-woo was the strongest person in New World. He later learned that other gamer that the government contacted also declined their offers of support. Even if the game was different, their pride as the strongest gamer was the same.

Anyway, the meeting ended there. The next day, all of Hyun-woo’s conditions were accepted and the Galaxian unit was delivered. When considering the normal processing speed of a government agency, everything really was handled at the speed of light. There was no choice. Lucifer wouldn’t wait.

“Is this the Galaxian unit?”

The Galaxian unit wasn’t much different from New World’s. The operation method was also similar. The game company heavily advertised that Galaxian would open at 7 a.m. The unit finished setting up at 9 a.m. He had already received 2 hours damage. He was impatient just thinking about it.

“Okay, shall I begin?”

Hyun-woo lowered his body into the unit and was engulfed in darkness. An endless dark space like it was the edge of the universe stretched out before him. Then he heard a firm voice speak the ARS message.

-You have started Galaxian. Please register the name of the user.

“Ark!”

Hyun-woo cried out without any hesitation. At the same time, there was an explosion of light and a new world unfolded in front of him. It was the return of the legendary gamer Ark.

96 thoughts on “Space 1: The Name is Ark”

i don’t know if others asked this question but how will a battle with AI be fair.
AI doesn’t need rest so he can play 24 hrs but users at least take 5 hr a day for example. just this itself will make everyone fall behind and the AI will be the highest leveled character wont it?

And dropped.
Gave the sequel a fair shot but the setup is honestly too stupid to put up with and the writing style has been irking me for a while in the prequel, so I guess I’ll just drop it here and treat what I just read as a brief epilogue that didn’t answer much.

I think I like Galaxian more than New World already. New world was the typical medieval mmo seen in every story but Galaxian reminds me off Phantasy Star, and who the fuck didn’t love to death these 3 games? ( let’s forget Phantasy Star III) I usually don’t like sci fi with weird ass species but something simple like this Galaxian and Phantasy Star stuff I can get behind

the most epic thing i can think of is the ending will be weed vs ark, while lucifer is pushed aside and says to himself “wtfuck is wrong with these two? im supposed to be themain vlillan here?’ weed working together with ark idea just sucks,its like a very cliche B.S.like what happened with conan and lupin an epic match between them would be the best, imagine L vs light, then all the authors has to do is toss a coin to determine the winner, im already imagining intense cunning strategic scenes between the 2